A Walk in the Woods
by Orphia
Summary: Nico di Angelo and Will Solace head into the monster infested forest to walk a hellhound. As you do. Unfortunately nothing is ever that simple. Ever.
1. Chapter 1

A WALK IN THE WOODS

Nico di Angelo and Will Solace head into the monster infested forest to walk a hellhound. As you do. Unfortunately nothing is ever that simple. Ever.

NICO

I hate not being able to use my powers. No-one stops Katie from growing daisies, or Percy going swimming. Will keeps healing day in, day out exhausting himself, how come he doesn't get enforced rest? No, just the zombie kid whose "gift" is so great it half kills him. Thanks Dad. Does Hazel get this problem when she does her tunnel stuff? I think not. The thing is, being in my element is supposed to give me strength, but no. Apparently prolonged exposure to "Underworldy Stuff" (a perfectly valid medical term, according to Will, my eye roll got me helping out emptying bed pans) just gives you a pale complexion, no friends of the living variety and a brush closer with the void than I personally care for. I'd do it all again, obviously, since my life obviously ranks lower than THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, but to hear the scolding I'm getting you'd think I'd just thrown myself off a cliff for laughs (though coincidentally Percy was all for that when we first met)

First they made me stay in the infirmary. Three days of "rest" and being blackmailed into eating. I was half expecting Persephone to turn all loving step-mum (now that would be scary, although her half-siblings (technically my step-aunts and uncles and my cousins AT THE SAME TIME) did pop in since Will needed all these rare herbs. Wolfsbane for my arm (I told him it was a scratch not a bite from that lycan, although that didn't stop the Stoll brothers sending me a collar and flea powder) and various rare mountain herbs since he "hadn't really seen this before" and wanted to cover all bases. When they finally let me back to my abysmally-decorated-but-still-better-than-the-infirmary cabin I'm watched over like a hawk in case I decide I really need a chinese and shadow-travel to Beijing. Will must have been exaggerating the hell out of my symptoms, since everyone seems to think I'm made of porcelain. I WENT TO TARTARUS, FOR HELL'S SAKE! (no pun intended) I can handle a little oblivion; it's what children of Hades do.

On the plus side at least I was of some use in the infirmary, although apparently my bedside manner needs some work. My smile can be a bit ghoulish, according to one particularly weak looking Ares kid. Will hummed over him until the two switched complexions. How can he have a go at me when he just hands out his life force to anyone that needs some? Most doctors know that their patients care drains them, but with Will it was just too literal. He never turns people away, or protests. Even the most… distressing injuries he just examines calmly and kindly and helps them however he can. He cleans and stitches and comforts and holds and makes sure no-one goes unnoticed or alone. A thousand acts of healing, no wonder they call him solace, he seems to have made it his life's work. I see his exhaustion and it surprises me how much it hurts to see that pain he hides from everyone else. Perhaps because I'm so used to hiding myself, I see the hurt he won't inflict on others. He's such a hypocrite that boy. He'll kill himself if he goes on like this, the stubborn idiot.

"Hey, death boy!" he yells, running up the hill towards me in his orange shirt and denim shorts, a multicoloured tie-died hoody tied around his waist. I'm part of camp now, but I draw the line at the t-shirt. Alright for some I suppose, but in my case orange is definitely not the new black.

"I told you, sunshine, don't call me that"

"Well whilst I hate to interrupt your brooding session," he began, brushing his hair out of his eyes.  
"I don't brood." I replied, possibly a little too defensively.

Will looked unconvinced gave an eye roll and continued. Idiot.

"Percy was asking if you'd walk Mrs O'Leary for him"

Oh, he came to give me a message. Nothing else. Of course.

"Isn't that a bit too close to Underworldy-stuff for your liking?"(I was getting a little annoyed at the "wrap Nico in cotton wool" conspiracy currently going on, if you couldn't tell)

"Well I personally have no problem with the Underworld, I think you can probably just about risk it, with appropriate medical supervision of course…" he smiled at me. How does he do that so effortlessly?

"Well I suppose I better, since its doctor's orders" I said, with as much sarcasm as I could muster, "I better call her over" Just as I was about to give my best whistle, Will gave his best attempt. Show off. All thoughts of annoying Apollians (I don't care if it's not a word, I can summon skeletons so whose going to argue) were forced out of my head by most definitely the most enthusiastic hellhound in existence (I can compare). Black and big and full of slobber. She's such a good dog. Also, Will looked a little daunted, so that's a bonus.

As she barrelled head first into me (soaking my favourite black hoody in saliva) I ruefully tried to persuade her now was not the time for a bath, the traitor (since when did she come for anyone but Percy and me?). Once the excitement had died down enough that she could let me up and start endeavouring to catch her own tail, I noticed that Will had collapsed on the floor with tears of laughter. "I'm sorry," he spluttered "but that," he catches his breathe "was adorable"

Hmmm… I have been described as creepy, moody, not-as-bad-as-I-seem… Adorable? Nope. Worse than death boy.

"So, Mr Ghost King, into the woods?" he asked, bowing with worryingly low levels of respect for my dark and mysterious mastery over those beyond the veil. I scowled at him, an expression that has caused panic in the Fields of Punishment. I then followed the combined loping gait of Solace and the treacherous hellhound now licking his face.

"How come you've finally taken my advice and gotten out of the infirmary?" I asked casually, as Mrs O'Leary ran off into some undergrowth after a completely terrified rabbit.

"Well the acute cases are pretty much dried up now, and everyone else is stable enough for us to relax a bit." Will squirmed a little "Also Chiron sort of banned me from operating for a week, bar emergencies" Ha, so now he knows how it feels. Doctor's orders, after all.

"You push yourself too hard, Will."

"Was that some concern di Angelo? You're going soft on me" he ribbed, eyes flashing in the light of the setting sun, "I-"

At this point we were interrupted by a giant scorpion.


	2. Chapter 2

WILL

Why didn't I bring a weapon into the forest? I am an idiot. Not that it would do me any good. I am not a warrior. Really not. Combat is nowhere near my forte. I just clean up afterwards, with the occasional poorly planned recon mission added in for fun. My aim is embarrassing for a child of Apollo and you would not believe the ribbing I get from my siblings for it (still better than any mortal's admittedly, but still). So this is entirely typical for me. I didn't bring a weapon to the forest and out comes a scorpion. I thought this kind of thing only happened to Percy and Annabeth! This is what comes from hanging with kids of the Big Three I suppose. Provided I don't die, totally worth it. Whoops just dodged the poisonous barb on the end of the tail, gently dripping with venom. Scorpion venom, pretty nasty. Fast acting, fatal but survivable if treated quickly. I can list the symptoms and the antidotes for all the good that does me. I dodge another strike. At least Nico should be armed. Actually, no. I confiscated his sword since it radiated darkness, and he had a tendency of keeping it under his pillow and attacking medics who woke him up. Neither of us is armed. Oh dear.

At that moment Nico barrels into me. "You idiot! Are you trying to get killed?!" he growls at me as we both crouch behind a tree and the scorpion stabs at the bark where my head was. "Stay here and DON'T DIE." Gotta love the detail in that plan.

Nico grabs a stick and leaps out at the beast, dodging and whirling like a demon. It reminds me of when I saw him in combat in New York. He whistles, and my new favourite hellhound leaps at the scorpion teeth bared and claws sharper than I remember. Even with Nico weaponless, the fight is still pretty one sided. Searching for something I can use as a weapon I notice the proclivity of round pebbles, and tearing some material from my shirt I fashion an improvised slingshot. With a quick prayer to dad, aunty Arty and any other gods who might show pity on me, I release a hail of pebbles into the scorpion's eyes, briefly blinding it so Nico can continue his flurry of blows. Basically all is going great, when from the other side of the glade, a giant python slithered to attack.

Little known fact, pythons are not keen on children of Apollo (yes, Dad defeats a python 2000 years ago, and its descendants still want revenge, Greek mythology tends to hold grudges, have you read the tragedies?). Children of Athena get all the attention with their arachnophobia, mainly because in the US spiders are a little more common. I can never go into the reptile house in the zoo though. There have been reported cases of pythons breaking the glass to attack. Not pretty. This particular python was not a normal python though. No. This python was a giant python. When I say giant I don't mean big. I don't mean unusually large. I mean massive, like length of a bus, thick as a trash can. Fangs like elephant tusks. It was glaring at me like I'd just eaten the last cheeto. And, because that just isn't exciting enough, going by the markings it is highly venomous. Lovely. As Nico manoeuvres around the scorpion, carefully baiting it into some particularly nasty looking tangled thorns and vines the Demeter kids cooked up last Capture the Flag, then dodging, so it leaped straight into the mess and go stuck. I leap to the side to avoid the hissing, burning venom the snake just spat. It spits venom. Perfect.

OK, breathe. Without celestial bronze, imperial gold or stygian iron, our chances of dusting both monsters is pretty low. A tactical withdrawal to one of the weapons stashes in the woods sounds like the best plan. I am just about to suggest it, when I feel Nico slipping towards the void. Oh gods. He's summoning skeletons. Fool. My turn then. Barrelling into Nico, I distract him enough to halt the process. "Do you WANT to become Underworld goo?! Go ahead, don't let me stop you. Just keep on summoning the forces of darkness, that should do it!" My rant was sort of interrupted by the scorpion working loose, and thanks to his little display, Nico has become limp as a voodoo doll. Amazingly, he managed to raise 3 skeletons without melting into shadow, so he's stronger than I feared. Still need to get him some ambrosia and unicorn hair soon, or scorpions will be the least of his worries. Despite the incredible stupidity involved in their summoning, I'm glad of the skeletons as they make short work of the scorpion (since they actually have, you know, weapons). Lifting the worryingly light Nico I manage to haul us both deeper into the woods, where the python's lack of manoeuvrability will slow it down. Also the trees act as cover from the venom saliva. Loving the venom saliva.

We're pretty near a weapons stash, I think. If I can just find a bow… Well anything would do right now, but bow would be favourite. Concealed in the rock formation behind us should be a small armoury for just these occasions. Unless it's been looted. Or borrowed. Or broken. In which case we're probably dead. It'll be fine. Using a brief pause in the venom onslaught, we moved awkwardly across to the small cave. I shoved Nico (as nicely as possible, given circumstances) into our new cubby hole and felt the weapon racks for something useful. There was one bow left, and it was a little dusty but still serviceable. I am so glad we use magic bowstrings that don't decay. A quiver I also acquired, even if the arrows it held were a little mismatched. Tyche must have been on my side today though, since one of the arrows was a flare. One shot up and whoever's patrolling camp should come with a squad. To find me and Nico. Alone. In the woods. Together. At night. Better hope it's not Piper (or her brethren). Or Clarisse. Or Butch. OK my options for this turning out in a not embarrassing way are limited here. Never mind. I fire the distress beacon and some flash bangs, which should distract or dear friend Mr Snakey for a couple of seconds maybe. I check my patient. He's freezing. Schist, that slobber soaked hoody! No wonder. I quickly remove my own and replace his. Hypothermia is the last thing we need. Actually, more monsters or Nico going bye-bye into the shadow realm are the last thing we need, but hypothermia definitely makes the shortlist. Chucking some Greek fire in the general direction of my new best friend, I check my pockets for some ambrosia for my old one. I almost always have some to hand, just in case. A brief haiku to Apollo requesting healing never hurts (for some reason haikus work better than other forms of incantation, which is lucky for me. Once, dad got obsessed with sagas. At least the haikus are short).

At this point I hear the unmistakable sound of chaos. It seems the cavalry have arrived. Not quite literally, unless you count one centaur, but still pretty handy in a fight. "CHARGE!" yelled Clarisse, with an unmistakable bellow. If I had 50 cents for every time she had needed broken bones setting or stitches from yours truly I would have… 12 dollars and 25 cents (I got half way through setting a limb when she got impatient and stormed out. That break took weeks to heal, so now she does as she's told (at least in medical situations)). I hear some hisses of pain and distress from the Pythonator, and almost feel a little sorry for it. Almost.

At this moment, Mr Percy Jackson turns up at the cave mouth. "I literally asked you to walk the dog." He says, arms folded "At what point did that turn into "go fight a giant python?"" He sobers up considerably when he notices Nico on the floor. "What happened?" he asks, reaching in his pack for some nectar. "Decides to ignore medical advice, almost gets himself killed. The usual." I check Nico's forehead. "No, don't give him nectar. We're a bit too close to an overdose." Percy nods and helps me carry Nico outside, where the battle is over. It was laughably one sided. With a makeshift stretcher made from the toga Jason brought with him (don't ask me why) we manoeuvred our way back to camp. Back to the infirmary for Death Boy.


	3. Chapter 3

I collapsed. Really? That is pathetic. I am never going to live this down. Mr Cool-Zombie-Dude fainting in the forest? Especially since the Stolls got me on camera wearing a tie die hoody. Rainbow is not my colour(s?), and Piper will never convince me otherwise. Charmspeak has its limits.

Speaking of Piper, she keeps watching me and giggling, or doing this weird smile like I'm a cute puppy that just did something adorable. How am I supposed to maintain my dark, brooding image with all this tie dye and simpering Aphrodite girls hmmm? I'd up the number of skeletons I'm seen with, but I am now under actual 24 hour surveillance. I'm fairly certain my new "bodyguards" are under orders to knock me out should I try anything. It would explain why Rachel looks so pleased (she's surprisingly violent for the host of a 5,000 year old prophetess spirit wearing jeans covered in magic marker). Next time, I suppose they want me to let Will get mauled to death, although considering he's keeping me holed up in here again, I might yet come round to their point of view.

Luckily Mrs O'Leary was alright. I think Percy would actually kill me if I didn't look after his dog, despite the fact she's perfectly capable of looking after herself. Maybe I should get my own hell-hound. I could probably nick a pup next time I'm down under (it would add a whole new level to "my dog ate my homework"). It was getting so boring in here. I mean the Apollo kids and everyone else were really nice, but also super busy, and given the burns patient and the state of some of the new kids who had limped over the threshold, I wasn't really their priority. Since Will was on forced vacation, they were even more rushed than usual. Chiron wasn't even letting him enter the infirmary, since as soon as he did he would take over and start running everything. His second in command, a girl (about 15) called Phoebe, was doing a pretty good job without him, but it was obvious everyone missed Will. I felt a bit guilty that I was taking up a bed that they could really do with giving to someone else, but I had literally no choice in the matter. I had tried to leave but had been stopped pretty abruptly by a kid threatening me with a scalpel. Not sure how that fits into medical ethics. I would raise a complaint, but by camp-standards that was pretty mild. Also that kid was scary.

A 13 year old boy came up with a stethoscope round his neck and examined the chart at the end of my bed. I trusted him more than most of my adult doctors, but it didn't make it any less weird. "Right. Well you've had enough nectar. Any more and you might start smoking."

Great start.

"To be honest, there isn't much we can do. Bed rest, no-

"I got it. No "Underworldy-stuff""

"I didn't know you knew the technical term." The kid smiled at me. I think he's called Liam. I'm bad at names.

"Anyway, bed rest in your cabin and regular socialisation to counteract any lingering effects of skeleton summoning."

One of the oddest diagnoses/prescriptions I'd had. Demigods tend to have weird medical records.

Not too bad then, they were letting me out at least. There was one thing that bothered me though.

"What exactly counts as regular socialisation?"  
"Well none of the emo isolation stuff you've been doing recently," he said, actually reading off the chart. What exactly had they written on that thing?

"Go to the campfire, attend some of the non-magic related training sessions. Maybe sculpture?"

Not sculpture. Art was not my strong suit. I had stayed safely in stick men territory and was not keen to explore the wild yonder of anything else.

I shook my head vehemently.

"Up to you. We will be monitoring though, so you better attend something." Somehow those words made Liam look a whole lot more intimidating. Big Brother was watching me it seemed. They let me out though, after making me promise to attend the campfire tonight. I better prepare my eardrums.

The campfire was alright. I wasn't particularly in the mood for a sing-along, but the smores were tasty and people stare at me less now. Also, listening to the enthusiasm of the singing is kind of infectious, even if the key isn't. Will wasn't about, which was a bit weird. I hadn't seen him yesterday and was hoping to catch up. The twins were here though, and walking towards me with a worrying sense of purpose.

"So Nico…" said Travis with a wicked grin on his face, "How are you old buddy, old pal, ol' King of the Ghosts, old saviour of the world you?" OK, this is weird. "How would you like to help us with a little something?" Definitely suspicious. "What?" I ask, summoning as much of an air of darkness as I could muster.

"Well, we have a bit of a dilemma" explained Travis, nudging Connor to help him out. I thought of the other times the twins had asked for help. That was a no to summoning a ghost to freak Katie, a no to helping them steal Sue Ellen's potion supplies for a stink bomb (of epic proportions), and a definite no to "borrowing" Cerberus so they could he could pull their chariot in the race. So far so crazy.

"What do you want?" a sighed, affecting my best air of superiority.

"Do you want to be on our team for capture the flag?"

That was actually surprisingly normal (for them). Hermes were the next lot to try their luck against a so far undefeated Athena run. It was really unfair having Percy and Annabeth on the same team. An unfairness they tried to solve by having a team half as big as usual. They still thrashed everyone, and Clarisse was a little bitter about it. I had heard her taking some of her rage out on the practise dummies. We were now out of practise dummies.

"Who else have you got?"

"Well… most of our cabin have been disqualified for what some people have deemed cheating." He waved his hand as if to suggest this was a great injustice, ignoring the attempted sabotage that had led to the big house being stormed in the night by irate party ponies. Hermes pranks tended to be almost as elaborate as Athena plans. Which for those not in the know is twistier than a corkscrew on a carousel.

"And Clarisse is not in a great mood with us since we replaced that boar on the cabin roof with a fluffy, pink pig" added Connor (That was actually pretty funny, although I did add a few curses to stop them doing the same with my skeletons. Hades might get a bit too… involved.)

"And well, the Nike kids are a bit intense with this kind of thing (understatement of the epoch, but carrying on), and Chiron said something about their blood pressure and so they are on a temporary hiatus and Hephaestus kid' aren't great at stealth. Also they said something about an awesome super weapon griffin/T-Rex android…"

"Aphrodite refused cause Piper had already teamed up with Annabeth…" (Piper knows when not to bet on the wrong side)

"Sue Ellen's in the infirmary since the toad incident, so Hecate doesn't like us very much either. Apollo cabin practically lives in the infirmary at the moment…" They seemed to be struggling. I interrupted, to end their misery.

"It's just me isn't it? Against everyone else?"

"In a manner of speaking." They said in apologetic unison. "On the plus side, we each get a bigger portion of the glory"

I'm sure that would be of great consolation to my thoroughly defeated ass.

"Is there anyone else still playing who might join our side?"

"Iris cabin?" suggested Travis

"No, we covered their roof in my little pony merchandise. They hate us" Connor explained.

"But they kept it."

"True brother, very true."

Great. Well I love a lost cause as much as the next demigod. We could be the bold 300 to hold off the hordes (I am aware that story ends in death for all involved, I'm trying to find silver linings in this situation, I'm not used to it).


	4. Chapter 4

Chiron has actually banned me from the infirmary.

Prevented me (by force) from entering, and posted a 24 hour guard to keep me out. This is getting out of hand. Anyone would think I'd committed a felony.

On the positive side, I have had some time to work on my combat training. Annabeth agreed to coach me a bit on sword fighting (Percy isn't a great teacher, despite his skills, and Clarisse is way too scary).

"You okay? Percy told me about last night." She said, gracefully side stepping my clumsy attempt at a feint.

"Not too bad. Considering the size of the python." I managed a passable parry, earning me a nod of approval.

"How is Nico by the way? I haven't seen him." she enquired, pushing me onto the back foot with a fast flurry of sword strokes.

"Not sure." I replied, panting a little, "Chiron won't let me even enter the infirmary. Something about exhausting myself which is stupid, because I'm fine."

"Will, you've been dead on your feet for the last fortnight." Even the way she held her sword conveyed scepticism.

"So has everyone else." I was on the defensive already. With the sword fighting I mean.

"Yes, which you then rightfully lambasted them for and made them get more sleep. It's Hippocratic not hypocritical." She paused in her attack to correct my grip on the hilt of my over-long sword.

Have I mentioned that getting into arguments with the Athena cabin is a definite no-no? Percy manages to win occasionally, but only by distracting her with flirting. It works for him.

"Anyway, about Nico. I'm glad you guys are such good friends."

This was the talk. I'd already had it from every other member of the seven. And Reyna. And Coach Hedge (he had threatened me with a baseball bat, I'd prescribed him something for his blood pressure. Also explained that his baby definitely did not have scarlet fever, smallpox or ovarian cancer (not least because he's a boy)). Basically everyone wanted me to know that if I did not look after Nico, or hurt him in any way… How did Jason put it?

Ah yes, "Tartarus would seem like a day at the seaside."

It's good to have friends isn't it?

Actually no, as it turned out this was a different talk.

"So do you want to be on my team for capture the flag?"

"Pardon?"  
"Simple, Hermes has recruited Nico for their team, and I want you to join mine. I have a plan." Of course she does. She smiled far too knowingly for my liking.  
"You want the Apollo cabin?" We had yet to form any alliances, but with our reduced numbers we were less of an asset.  
"Them too." Worrying.

I thought about it. We were quite popular in capture the flag as snipers and defenders, but if she wanted me personally she had something specific in mind.

"Sorry Annabeth, I already said we'd help Hermes." Not technically true, but I wasn't going to abandon Nico just yet. Also Annabeth's plans weren't always kind to the smaller cogs, in order for the whole to work.

"As you wish." She didn't look too miffed, which I was glad about. When Annabeth holds a grudge, she HOLDS it. Her retribution may not always be swift but it was always perfectly planned out and executed with precision.

We completed the rest of the session in silence, apart from the occasional critique of my footwork or swing. I was deemed "Not too bad, a little slow maybe. Also you telegraph your moves too much." An alright verdict considering Clarisse had said "You show all the natural swordsmanship of a squid that's been dead for at least 3 weeks. Actually, no, I think the squid might win." She goes in for encouragement. I quite like watching newbies leave her training sessions, at least till they end up with me with multiple fractures and PTSD.

Now I just had to get myself recruited by Travis and Connor. Not too hard a task since last I heard they were pretty desperate for recruits.

As I jogged back towards the pavilion I crossed paths with Sir Sulk-a-lot himself. Not looking too bad, although he still needed to eat more. It wasn't as if we were in danger of running out of food. Percy alone managed to go through enough for 2.35 people at each sitting. Skeletal by name and by nature should not be a characteristic of the sole inhabitant of Hades cabin.

"This is your fault you know." I began, falling into step with him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well you've got me roped into joining the losing team for Capture the Flag." I moaned, watching carefully to judge his reaction.

"I've done no such thing. And your optimism is appreciated." He countered, giving what can only be described as a smirk.

"Well I was told you had thrown yourself onto the barricade, and my honour demanded I join you." I bowed theatrically, earning myself a few stares and one snigger from passing campers. I saw that, Amy of Hebe cabin. You have just volunteered yourself for the next William Tell demonstration down at the archery range. Anyway…  
"Your honour?" Nico looked amused, rather than horrified at his choice of companion. Always nice.  
"Well I could hardly leave my friends to be slaughtered." I replied, elbowing him slightly in the far too prominent ribs. He really needed to put on some weight. I would spoon feed him every mouthful if I had to.

"I didn't know you were so close to the twins." His face darkened. Was that jealousy? I'm quite flattered.

"I meant you doofus." I rolled my eyes. Low self-esteem is one thing, but Nico is on a whole other level. Yet another thing I have to worry about.

"Charmed I'm sure." He looked quite pleased though. It was hard to tell, since he turned his face away.

"Any ideas for recruiting?" he asked, staring off into the middle distance.

"Well other than trying that song from Les Mis…"  
"Musicals? Really?" I was rather hurt by his tone.  
"Everyone loves Les Miserables."  
"Somehow that one passed me by." He looked a little embarrassed.  
"I forgot you missed out on everything from the 40s to the late 2000s. No Elvis, no Beatles, no Pink Floyd, no Rolling Stones, no David Bowie, no Michael Jackson…" I mean I wasn't around for them either, but for me at least they didn't just pop up overnight.

"You related to all of them?"

"A couple. Some mortals manage to have musical talent without divine intervention you know." Apollo himself was suffering from a bout of bad taste at the moment. It went a long way to explaining modern pop music.

We were jumped on from behind by Nico's personal bodyguard (I just asked a few friends to keep an eye on him), at the moment a role filled by Jason Grace.

"Hey guys!" he began, leaping between us with all the grace of a gazelle and the enthusiasm of a puppy, "You got a plan for the games tomorrow?"  
"Nope." Replied Nico, completely composed at this enthusiastic interruption, "Fancy joining the ranks?"

"Well we who are about to die salute you and all that. I'll play my part in the last stand if you want." Jason put his arms round our shoulders, pulling us in together.

"So far that's five people then. A couple more if I can persuade some of my siblings to help out." This was going to be fun. Even without the best tactician in camp, they still outnumbered us.

"That boys, is where you are in luck, you see, I have a plan." Jason tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially. "I have a sister who owes me a favour, and said sister has a small personal army."

"You mean the hunters of Artemis?" I was a bit flabbergasted. I mean I liked them as much as the last camper who'd had their ass saved by that pack of girls and their pet wolves, but whenever we went into direct competition, stuff tended to get broken. "You do know it didn't go so well last time they played, right? Piper might not be too pleased either. They have a habit of insulting Aphrodite."  
"Piper and Thalia get on great. Besides, you don't even have a mummified oracle anymore. Wait, that's a point… Do you think Rachel would join our team?"

"I'm pretty sure she's supposed to be neutral." I tried to picture Rachel in combat, threatening her opponents with that blue hairbrush of hers. I'd be intimidated, if that was any indication.

Nico hadn't said anything. His sister, Bianca, she had joined the hunt just before she died… That must have been hard for him, he was only a kid when it happened. He'd turned away again, so I couldn't see his expression, but Jason was too enthusiastic about his idea to notice. I was about to raise another objection, but he had already run off to tell the Stolls.

I wondered if the camp would survive this competition intact.


	5. Chapter 5

NICO

"I Iris messaged Thalia. I think we're on. Oh, and Reyna says 'Hi' to Nico." Jason beamed with success at the impromptu team meeting at the pavilion.

Thalia, I quite like Thalia. She suggested the Big Three kids should meet up annually for nachos. Then Percy and Jason explained to Hazel what nachos were. The rest of the Hunt… I don't mean to hold grudges. I really try (fatal flaw and all that), but I lost my sister three times, and twice it involved the Hunt. I'm trying to look after the rest of my family.

Like Reyna.

Reyna's been visiting the Amazons, and they and the huntresses have been meeting up quite a lot recently. They even wrangled a discount, which is more than Reyna got. She wouldn't abandon New Rome though, they'd been cycling through praetors fast enough already. It was practically like the bad old days of the empire, though with fewer assassinations. Besides, I made her promise she would tell me before doing anything stupid.

Like getting the personal attendants of a goddess involved in camp games.

This was crazy. We were recruiting the hunters of Artemis to help us win capture the flag. We may have been taking this a tad too seriously.

Who am I kidding? This is Camp Half-Blood, we always take things too seriously.

The Stoll's had been delighted, no ecstatic. I was mildly concerned they might combust from shear glee. We were still hopelessly outnumbered of course, but the Hunt gave us some definite fire power. I wonder if they still remember the T-shirt thing…

"We still need more numbers." said Will, leaning louche against a pillar in the dining pavilion as we made our battle plans, "Why haven't you asked Katie yet? Demeter cabin could really help and last I heard they're still neutral."

Travis scowled. "Maybe not." said Connor, eyeing his brother meaningfully.

"Oh come on!" said Jason, "I'm not losing this because Travis couldn't work up the courage to ask Katie out."

I got the feeling Jason had been hearing more than enough about the romantic intrigues of the camp from Piper. She got quite invested in her favourites.

"It's not that simple. There was a roman kid, Dakota maybe? The one that looks like a vampire. Well he and Katie got quite close." Connor was calmly revealing the troubles of his brother who was scowling at his feet. If I tried that we'd already have skeletons breaking through the flagstones, and I'd promised Chiron no more, the cost of replacement was getting problematic.

"Dakota? Really? I thought he had a thing going for Gwen. The one who resurrected from the dead?" Jason had definitely been spending too much time being talked at by Piper. To be honest, as much as I didn't mind "Centurion Shishkebab" I had avoided her since. There was something about her that grated on my instincts. Souls shouldn't escape Hades, no matter the circumstances it felt wrong. Let that kind of thing happen all the time and soon the world would fall to chaos.

Anyway Travis seemed to perk up a bit at the news.

"Well regardless, I'll invite her." Said Will, reaching for his quiver as he prepared to leave. "Anyone else I should ask to join our rag-tag bunch?"

The twins looked at me again "Are you sure we can't borrow Cerberus?"

Seriously? They still thought trying to train the guard dog of Hades was a good idea? Had they seen the size of the poop scoop they needed down there? Triple the heads, triple the food intake and triple the mess. We normally reserved it for murderers and the more unscrupulous lawyers.

"What about the Kindly Ones?" more pleading, wheedling tones as Jason looked on in amusement.

Alecto and her sisters and I were not the best of friends. What can I say, she helped keep me trapped in lotus land for over half a century, I'm allowed to be frosty. Even if I wanted to ask for a favour, it was going to take more than my authority as Prince of the Underworld to get it.

"No." I made my expression as unamused as possible, in an attempt to discourage future goading.

This seemed to provoke Will, who grinned and fluffed my hair "No Underworld summoning for death boy anyway. Doctor's orders." He smirked at the twins annoyed expressions and proceeded to what can only be described as skip down from the dais and head to Demeter cabin, waving at us when he reached the campfire.

I realised that for some reason everyone else was looking at me. I assume they thought I had a plan.

"How are we tactically?" I asked, trying to dissuade them of that notion.

Jason was the most qualified for military tactics, having commanded a roman legion, but he couldn't beat Annabeth on her home turf. Besides, we were hardly a legion.

"I thought we'd get Thalia to help out on that. She knows how Annabeth thinks better than almost anyone." He said, hands in his pockets. "Also, the hunters are unlikely to follow a plan made by someone that isn't her." The others all nodded in agreement.

I still wasn't keen on involving the hunters. For one it was probably bending the rules quite a lot. We didn't want to start an arms race, else Percy might start calling in his cyclops buddies and hippocampi, or Jason could bring in one of Zeus's eagles.

I could recruit all sorts of Underworld abominations, or Hecate Cabin could find any number of unpleasant things that serve the Lady of the Crossroads.

There were just so many ways this could go wrong.

On the other hand, we couldn't manage without the hunt. With them it was still going to be tricky, but without? Impossible. No point in gifting victory to the other side. They were smug enough already.

I let my doubts subside for now. Besides, everyone else was now starting to be optimistic about our chances. It would be mean to stop their fun prematurely.


	6. Chapter 6

WILL

"Come on Katie!" I pleaded, trying to make my eyes as big as possible, and fluttering my eyelashes winsomely.

"Don't you try that charm on me, William Arthur Solace. I am completely immune."

I had found her just as she was perfecting her patch of the roof garden on the Demeter cabin. She glared at it critically, then swirled a finger, causing a few shoots to curl in a more aesthetically pleasing manner.

"Do you think more sweet-peas?" she asked, as she coaxed a couple more flowers into bloom. They burst open, desperate to please her. Some plants are such suck-ups.

"All I know about are the medicinal herbs, you know that." I like flowers and all, but I'm hopeless at telling them apart. All I need are the poisons and the herbs.

Katie looked a little affronted. "A garden needs to be beautiful as well as productive." She said haughtily.

"Well I still don't see why you thought more pomegranates was a bad idea." I said. She'd asked about the orchard expansion and I'd suggested them. I like pomegranates. And I'd been shot down like a clay pigeon on the skeet range.

She gave me another glare. "Mum would veto I'm afraid. Still a sore subject."  
Ah yes. Good point. The camp does try to avoid infuriating too many Olympians at once. Apart from Mr D. Our mere existence infuriates Mr D. Though he hadn't actually come back since the Giant War. The gods had been pretty quiet on all fronts actually. Which set us all on edge. Recent events have taught us that Zeus seemed to put Olympus on shut down every time something bad was up. Youo'd think he'd of learned by now that this was generally counterproductive, but hey you don't get to be King of Olympus without being a bit of a stubborn ass some of the time (not that I would ever say that out loud. I like not being blasted to a crispy pair of smoking shoes).

"It's only one game…" I coaxed, trying to return her to the subject at hand and increasing the frequency of the eyelid fluttering.

"Even with both our cabins, the team would still be outnumbered. What's the point?" she asked, withering a weed with a scornful glare.

"We might not be." I interjected, not sure if I was supposed to reveal our ace before a deal had been struck.

She turned on me suspiciously "What are you up to, archer boy?" Her eyes narrowed "What are They up to?"

Her tone of voice made it fairly certain she meant the twins. No one else quite riled her up like the Stoll brothers.

"Nothing." An eyebrow raised imperiously. "At least nothing bad." Unless you count potentially instigating a whole camp arms race as bad, in which case none of us would be able to do anything.

Her eyebrows remained sceptical.

Time for some flattery. "And Travis said you were really vital to the plan. Like we couldn't do it without you."

She smiled ruefully. "Did he indeed?"

"Yes. And the twins promise they won't bug you at all for at least a month." I tried to look convincing and full of integrity. Integrity is very important for a doctor.

She poked an errant dandelion, which instantly withered into the ground.

"They said that hmmm?"

"Definitely. Absolutely." They will agree to it as soon as I tell them about it. Probably. Maybe.

She pursed her lips, then gave a heavy sigh. "Fine. Tell them I'll consider it."

I gave her my biggest beam, "Thanks Katie! Like super-duper thank you!" I hopped down from the roof before she could change her mind.

"We better win, Mister Sunbeam!" she yelled after my quickly retreating form, "And you owe me one!"

Not as many as you owe me, I thought to myself silently. I had to deal with the rashes from the poison ivy outbreak when someone complained about Katie's rhododendrons. It would be useless to press the point however.

I did a mental run down of Apollo Cabin as I went to get my guitar for music practise. Phoebe was needed in the infirmary, besides me she had the most experience, and six new demigods had crossed the threshold last night, one unconscious from poison, another with severe burns. Chiron had let me give them a once over, but she was in charge of the actual healing. That meant Laurel, Max and David were also needed, especially since there would need to be some patching up after Capture the Flag. That left Kayla, Austin, Jamie, Drake, Tim, Delfie, Saul, Surya, Prisca, Arya and Zainab. Well Austin definitely had a gig, so no Austin. Jamie, Surya, Delfie, Zainab and Prisca were all on enforced rest. Too many nights working instead of sleeping. That left Kayla, Drake, Tim, Saul and Arya. Tim wouldn't work with the Stolls, not since they'd rigged his stuff with pyrotechnics and insisted on calling him "The Enchanter", and I'm not the kind of Counsellor to force anyone into voluntary activities. Ours is a chilled cabin. I've never been a fan of the more… forceful? Dictatorial Counsellors. We're all family after all, and I guess that makes me the parent, or at least the older brother. My siblings should do what I ask because they want to, not because their scared of me. I don't think Dad really goes for the shock and awe so much. All the gods like respect, and woe betide anyone too cheeky, but I always like to think of him as a bit more laid back than some of the other Olympians. Mentioning no names.

I was sat on my bed and suddenly realised I'd been tuning the G string for 30 minutes straight. Whoops, got a little distracted there. Bit late to go to music practise now. I'd interrupt everyone, mess up rehearsal schedule. Not that Austin needs any help leading the group. He's a far better musician than me. I guess it would be unfair to be the best at all of dads accumulated areas of specialty, so I'm the best healer, Austin the best musician, Laurel the best shot. The others are all somewhere in-between. It balances things out. Occasionally you get someone who can blow your mind with a harmonica and hit Washington's eye on a quarter from 250 metres. Those guys tend to tire fast though. However skilled you are, everyone's working from limited resources.

Speaking of which, yawn, I seem to be drifting off slightly, the worlds all fuzzy, and my eyes...

Just...

Closing...

Well what's the harm?

Someone'll ...

come and get me if they...

need me. Yawn.


End file.
